Father’s Day, June 19th, is just around the corner. Every year, those in the United States celebrate our favorite guys on the third Sunday of June.
#10 – Father’s Day Was Inspired By A Daughter’s Homage To Her Father
Sonora Smart Dodd heard a Mother’s Day sermon one Sunday. She thought of her father, a Civil War veteran, who was raising his 6 children after her mom died, and saw the importance of dads being honored as well.
#9 – The Holiday Spelling Changed
On her original petition, Ms. Dodd spelled Fathers’ Day with the apostrophe after the “s,” using the plural of the word, father. However, on the first bill that attempted to establish the holiday, father was spelled as a singular word.
#8 – It Took Some Time To Sign Into Law
In the U.S., the first Father’s Day was celebrated on June 19th, 1910, in the state of Washington. President Woodrow Wilson supported the idea of observing an annual Father’s Day in 1916. In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring dads, designating the third Sunday in June as their special day. But it wasn’t until 1972, that President Nixon finally signed a law making [Father’s Day] a permanent national holiday.
#7 – Stay-At-Home Dads Are Gaining
The ranks of stay-at-home dads continue to grow in America. Their ranks now number 214,000. There are over 2.6 million households led by a single father.
#6 – We Love To Buy Cards For Our Dads
Over $100 million dollars is spent on card sales on Father’s Day. We just don’t love our dads, but send cards to our husbands, sons, grandfather’s, uncles, and sons-in-law as well!
#5 – What Mark Twain Discovered About His Dad
Mark Twain said this about his dad. “When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.”
#4 – Roses Are The Official Flower For Father’s Days
A red rose is worn in the lapel if your father is living. A white rose is worn if he has passed.
#3 – The Oldest Dad
In 2010, Ramjit Raghav became a first-time dad at age 94.
#2 – Can You Guess The Most Popular Father’s Day Gift?
The necktie remains the most time-honored gift to give dad. Other favorite gifts include shirts, hammers, wrenches, and screwdrivers.
#1 – Calling Dad
Father’s Day is the busiest day of the year for phone calls… [collect] phone calls, that is.
